Sućuraj – Hvar eastern travel

At the eastern tip of Hvar lies the pretty little port of Sućuraj. From there, it’s only 5 km, a short hop by ferry across to Drvenik on the mainland. From the island the effect is rather dramatic – you’re looking up at a 4,000 ft wall across the small channel, which looms ever larger…

Dalmacija Wine Expo 2013

Having missed the Dalmacija Wine Expo last year, we were keen to book early for this year. It’s the best place to try a range of Dalmatian wines, and find out what’s new and compare the various offerings. We set ourselves up with a room in the hotel right next to where the Expo is…

Vrboska by Night

Walking around Vrboska at night is delightful, if a bit tricky in places. We have street lights that kind of cover most areas, but some familiarity with the pathways definitely helps for those darker corners! Of course, the most important buildings are always floodlit throughout the night – so the churches of Sv Marija and…

Rosmarinus Officinalis

Rosemary and lavender – Hvar’s essential oils

One of the delights of Hvar is the variety of aromatic plants that grow naturally here. The island is well-known for its lavender (lavanda), but for many centuries, rosemary (ružmarin) was more important to the island’s economy. Rosemary is actually a close relative of lavender, both belonging to the Lamiaceae (mint) family of plants. The…

The waterfront at Stari Grad

Going back in time – the old town of Stari Grad

Stari Grad is an old town. If you wind back time by a couple of thousand years to the turn of the millenium, you’d find that settlements on the island consisted of Illyrian hillforts, mostly away from the coast, though the castle at Hvar town directly overlooked the harbour. And then there was Stari Grad,…

Windrose2

The Winds Have Names

In the Adriatic, you’d think there wasn’t really much extreme weather to talk about, especially if you visited in the high summer. OK, the odd thunderstorm over the mainland in the afternoon, but not out on the islands, surely? Yet you’ll see examples of windroses here and there, with the winds clearly named. There’s one…